Loop-regulating attachment for full-fashioned-knitting machines



F. H. STOEHREL MACHINE S LOOP REGULATING ATTACHMENT FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING 2' Shani-Sheet; 1

Filed Dec. 13 922 2 l l l L E R H E S H F Oct. 211. 1924.

LOOP REGULATING ATTACHMENT FOR FULL FASHIONED K'NIT'II NG MACHINES Filed Dec. 13 I922 I 2 Sheet s sh% (,2

I mmfif Siam/'51,

gwuentoc application died December To whor s. it may concern:

Be it known that l, FRIEDRICH H. STOEH- non, citizen of the United States, residing at Wycmissing, in'the county of Berks and oi? E'ennsylvania, have invented cerin new and useful Improvements in Loopeting Attachments for Full-Fashrlnitting Machines, of which the folis o. specification. invention reiates to full. fashioned knitting machines, and it consists in improved means for controlling the length of loops -formed on determined needles, and more psrticulerly on those knitting an additional yarn as in producing reenforced se1- rage edges in a fashioned stocking fabric. The invention is fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features pointed out in the cined claims.

ri l is mainly a diagrammatic View showing in front elevation such portions of one section and part of an ad acentsect10nloop lengthening result produced by my needle presser device.

Fig. indicates a stocking leg fabric bay ing a reeniorced selvage edge produced by the improved attachment shown in the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, which show essential parts of swell known straight knitting machine, 1 indicates a usual needle bar section, 2 the straight line of needles secured therein, 3 the parallel row of co operating sinkers, 4 the knock over bits, 5 the longitudinally movable rod carrying the main yarn guides, 6 and 7 similar rods carrying the reenforcing yarn guides, and 8 and 9 narrowing bars each having secured thereto a bracket 10 carrying the usual transfer points 11/ The bars 8 and 9 are mounted in arms 12 depending from narrowing rod 13, and the usual narrowing mechanism, not shown, intermittently lowers said rod 13 and shifts said bars 8 and 9 a corresponding vertical. section.

T STOEHREL, OF ZV'FZGMISSING, PENNSYLVELNIA, ASSIGNOR Ti? i" (30., OF READINi' PENNSYLVELIIIA, A CORPORATION GE FULLEASHIONED-KNITTING HACHINES,

3.3, 2322. Serial Ho. 506,5?1.

longitudinally to cause the transfer points 11 to pick selvage loops from the needles and transfer them to other needles in the well known fashioning operation. The machine is operated from a main cam shaft 15 and automatic changes eiiected by a pat.- tern chain 16 as heretofore, to produce a stocking leg fabric having the general outline shown in Fig. 4.

Regulation of the length of loops on the needles has heretofore been accomplished by cams on the cam shaft 15 acting through the usual pressershaft, not shown, to move the needle bar 1 toward and from the parallel row of sinlrers during the laying of the yarn, so that longer or shorter loops will be drawn by the advancing row of sinkers 3 in a manner Well known. Provision has.al'so heretofore been made for varying loops lengths on certain needles only, as in producing a reeniforced. selvage edge indicated at 0. a in Fig. 4; the cam shaft in this instance having special cs.- for actuating the presser shaft to give momentarily increased movement to the needle bar as the yarn guides feed yarn to certain selvage needlesso that these needles only will draw longer loops as desirable in maintaining the elasticity of the fabric in these reenlorced edges. This known means shifts the entire needle bar, causing a strain on the regular length loops laid on the needles intermediate the'selvage needles, and over requires a delicate cicety merit to time the some with the traverse of the yarn guides so as to give such extra swings to the needle bar Hi; the precise moment the yarn guides yarn to the sci.- mge needles, and love ves besides mecha- HlSIIl for shifting the cams so as to vary the swings as the narrowing mechanism reduces the width of the fabric in the usual. fashioning process V In my improved mechanism 1 provide simplified means for varying the loop lengths on determined neer les, which means may be placed uny wl in the width of the fabric to produce a stripe of changed loop length, or in connection with an additional yarn, a recnforced elastic stripe. In the drawings 1 have shown my deviceas applied to producing the elastic reenforced selvage edge a a heretofore made.

The means shown, consists of a needle mereof adgusepresser device 20, see Fig. 3, which is actuated during the laying of the yarn to bend a needle 2 into the sinkers 3 so that this bent needle will draw a longer loop than an unbent needle. The device may be readily formed to engage a certain and definite number of the equally spaced needles, requires no delicate adjustment as to the time of its operation, and does not affect the loop lengths of the remaining poodles as controlled by the usual .presser The Presser device 20 is preferably simply formed, as shown, by a bent round wire rigidly secured by means of a set screw as shown in Fig. 2 in an arm pivoted at 26 in one of the transfer point brackets 10, so that its end may swing towards and from the needles 2. It will be understood that each section will have a right and left presser' device 20 for the selvage edges, and their mounting on the brackets 10 will move them as the narrowing mechanism moves said brackets in the usual fashioning process by shifting bars 8 and 9 so that said pressers will always operate on a certain number of salvage needles to produce a stripe of equal width and elasticity throughout.

The series ofpressers 20 are operated, as shown, from a shaft 30, extending the length of the machine and carrying a series of fixed arms 31, one for each presser device; and each arm 31 has a right-angled extension 32 engaging in the fork formed by presser I wire 20 and spaced wire extension 33 of arm 25, so as to control the swing of the presser in both directions, and the extensions 32 are long enough to remain in engagement in said fork during the maximum travel of the pressers 20 along the needle row.

The shaft is intermittently rocked atcach traverse of the yarn guides by a cam 35 on cam shaft 15 acting on a'lever 36, the upper end of which bears against an arm 37 fixed to said shaft. The cam 35 may be formed, as shown, to swing the presser device 20 to bend the needles during the entire traverse of the guides, or it may be divided to bend first one presser 20 and then the other as the guides advance along the needles. And the lever 36 is preferably formed with a movable upper end 38 that may be swung, against tension of spring 39,

out of engagement with arm 37, so as to intermit action on the latter during the narrowing movements. Such disengaging swing of lever end 38 is controlled by pattern lugs 40 on pattern. chain 16 lifting a lever 41 which latter turns a fixedly pivoted boll crank 42 to longitudinally move a shaft 43, the latter having a projection 44- adapted to engage the extended end 45 of lever end 38 to turn the same on its pivot 46.

' It is desirable to swing the pressers 20 away from the needles 2 when the transfer misses 51, and having a tensioned slide member 52 vertically movable in its forked upper end 53. This slide 52 engages a stud 55 on an arm 56 secured to shaft 30 and the tension of said slide normally turns said shaftto hold the prcssers 20 slightly away from the needles 2 as shown in Fig. 2, but gives to permit their inward needle bending swing when shaft 30 is actuated by lever 36. When shaft 13 is dipped to bring points 11 into action upon the needles, shaft 30 is also lowered,, and stud 55 held in fork 53 of post 50 swings the latter on its ivot 51 to the position shown in dotted ines in Fig. 2, which movement lifts stud'arm 56 to turn shaft 30 and swing pressers 20 out of the way, the parts resuming the full line position upon the raising of shaft 13. The pattern chain lug 4,0 is so timed as to swing lever end 38 to non-active position at the time shaft 13 is lowered. And to swing the presscr devices 20 to non-operating posi:

'tion, as at the beginning of the usual heel rcenforccment b I), I provide, as shown, a hand lever 58 for shaft 30, which hand lever may be swung into engagement with a spring vdetent 59, until the reenforced salvage mechanism is again icquired in the next stocking knitted.

The operation of my improvements will be readily understood from the foregoing description, the yarn guides laying the main and rccnforcing warns in the usual manner, and my presser devices 20 cooperatively bending the selvage needles receiving the extra yarn to lengthen the loops formed thereon to maintain desired elasticity in these reenforced edges. By mounting my presser devices 20 on the transfer point brackets 10, the usual narrowing movements imparted by the narrowing screw mechanism to bars 8 and 9 will simultaneously move said presser devices to maintain their pressing action on definite selvage needles, and the pattern chain mechanism at the time it actuatcs such narrowing mechanism, also actuates lever end 38 to interrupt pressing action of devices 20 and permit their being swung to out-of-the-way position by post 50.

As stated my presser devices 20 may be employed without employing extra yarn and may be located anywhere along this length of needles, their action being independent of the usual needle bar control.

They may be mounted on brackets fixedly secured tothe frame, or on oth er bars than the narrowing bars, dependmg'on the character of work desired, and lendthemselves atlases and I do not desire to limit myself to the specific form shown and described; but:

ivhat I claim is: p v

1. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkers and yarn guide, a needle presser device and means for periodically actuating the same so as to cause it to operate upon determined needles only during each successive yarn-laying traversings of said guide to bend said determined needles and thereby lengthen the yarn loop formed thereon.

2. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkers and a yarn guide, a needle presser device operable during the yarn laying traverse of said guide to bend a determined number of needles whereby lengthened loops of yarn are formed on said bent needles, and means for shifting said presser device longitudinally along the needles in successive courses.

3. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkers, a main yarn guide, and a Lreenforcing yarn guide adapted to feed yarn to determined needles only, a needle presser device and means for periodically actuating the same so as toycause it to operate upon said determined needles only durin successive yarnda ing traversings of said guide to bend sai determined needles and thereby lengthen the yarn loops formed thereon.

4:. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkers, a'main yarn guide, and reenforcing yarn guides adapted to feed yarn to determined selvage needles only, a plurality of needle presser devices for the latter and means for periodically actuating the same so as to cause them to operate upon said determined needles during each of successive yarn-laying traversings of said rcenforcing yarn guides to bend said determined needles and thereby lengthen the yarn loops formed thereon.

In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinlters, a main yarn guide, and. recnforcing yarn, guides adapted to feed yarn to adetermined number of selvage needles, needle presser devices for the latter inovably carried by the narrowing bars and operable during the yarn laying traverse of said guides to bend said selvage needles whereby lengthened loops of the yarns are formed thereon.

6. in a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkers, a main yarn guide, and selvage edge rcenforcing yarn guides, narrowing transfer points and salvage needle presser devices. longitudinally movable therewith, means for moving said prcsser devices at each'traver 2. of the yarn guides to bend said sel-vage needles whereby lengthened loops of the yarns are formed thereon, and

means for rendering said presser devices inoperative during the transfer movements comprising needles, sinkers, a main yarn guide, seivage reenforcing yarn guides,'and narrowing mechanism including longitudinally movable narrowing bars, salvage needle presser devices pivotally carried from said narrowing bars, a rockershaft for said devices, and a cam actuated lever for said rocker shaft adapted to swing ,said presser devices at each traverse of the yarn guides to bend said selvage needles whereby lengthened loops of the yarns are formed thereon.

8. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkcrs, a main yarn guide, selvage reenforcing yarn guides, and narrowing mechanism includin longitudinally movable narrowing needle presser devices pivotally carried from said narrowing bars, a rocker shaftfor said devices, a cam actuated lever for said rocker shaft adapted to swing said presser devices at each traverse of the yardguidos to bend said selvage needles whereby lengthened loops of the yarns are formed thereon, and a separate rocker shaft actuating device for reversely swinging said presser devices during the narrowing operation.

9. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinkers, a main yarn guide, selvage reenforcing yarn guides, and narrowing mechanism including longitudinally movable narrowing bars, selvage needle presser devices pivotally carried from said narrowing bars, a rocker shaft for said devices, a cam actuated lever for said rocker shaft adapted to swing said presser devices at each traverse of the yarn guides to bend said selvage needles whereby lengthened loops of the yarns are formed thereon, and a pattern controlled device for rendering said lever inoperative.

10. In a full fashioned knitting machine comprising needles, sinliers, a main yarn guide, selvage reenforcing yarn guides, and narrowing mechanism including longitudinally movable narrowing bars, selvage needle presser devices pivotally carried from said narrowmg bars, a rocker shatt for said devices, a cam actuated lever for said rocker shaft adapted to swing said presser devices at each traverse of the yarn guides to bend said selvage needles whereby lengthener loops of the yarns are formed thereon, a pattern controlled device for rendering said lever inoperative, and a separate rocker 0' bah-s, selvage shaft actuating device for reversely swing:

ing said presser devices during the narrowing operation.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

' FRli-IlDRlCH HERMANN S'Tfiiilil'tlilt. 

